• Senior Bria Gibson logged a career-high 26 points.
• Senior Emma Bockrath scored 24 points.
• HPU scored 49 bench points.
HAMPTON, Va. – The High Point University women’s basketball team defeated Hampton, 104-98, on Saturday, March 2. The win clinches the second seed in the Big South Tournament for the Panthers.
High Point (20-7, 13-3) shot 50.6 percent from the field (39-77), 41.7 percent (5-12) from three and 87.5 percent (21-24) from the free throw line, while Hampton (15-12, 11-5) was 53.0 percent (35-66) from the field, 41.2 percent (7-17) from three and 80.8 percent (21-26) from the charity stripe. The Panthers out-rebounded the Lady Pirates 41-29 and dished out 23 assists to Hampton’s 21.
HPU out-scored Hampton 49-6 in bench points, 12-8 in fast break points and 31-22 in points off turnovers. The teams were tied, 54-54, in points in the paint. The 104 points are the most points an HPU team has scored against a division I opponent since the Panthers put up 106 points in a 106-58 win over UNC Asheville on March 6, 2011.
“It’s not easy to win on the road, especially against a very good Hampton team,” HPU head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. “I’m proud of our kids’ focus and toughness for 40 minutes. Today was a total team effort.”
Senior Bria Gibson led the Panthers with a career-high 26 points, while senior Emma Bockrath grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Gibson added eight rebounds and Bockrath scored 24 points. Senior Bre Davis tied for the team-high in assists with a career-high seven. Junior Camryn Brown also dished out seven assists.
After trading buckets to open the third quarter, HPU went on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 65-52. Neither team could make more than a 4-0 run until Hampton ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to cut High Point’s lead to 80-73 going into the fourth quarter. The Panthers led 92-80 after a Gibson layup, but the Lady Pirates went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 94-91. The Panthers responded with a 6-2 run to put the score at 100-93. High Point was able to maintain the lead the rest of the way and win 104-98.
Hampton jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Panthers were able to come back with a 14-5 run of their own to tie the game at 14. The teams traded buckets and Hampton took a 29-27 lead into the second quarter. The Panthers and the Lady Pirates traded blows in the second quarter before High Point took a 52-46 lead into the half.
HPU shot 50.0 percent (21-42) from the field and 42.9 percent (3-7) from three, while the Lady Pirates was 56.7 percent (17-30) from the field and 37.5 percent (3-8) from three in the first half. HPU had 20 rebounds and 11 assists, while Hampton posted 14 rebound and 11 assists at the break. The Purple & White logged 28 points off the bench at halftime.
Despite the loss, Laren Vanarsdale led all scorers with 33 points for Hampton.
Up next, High Point will host UNC Asheville for the final regular season home game of the 2018-19 season on Wednesday, March 6. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Millis Center.